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28 November 2012

Back again peeps. Part-time has turned into full-time work this week which means the things I'd planned to get done this week are just not happening as fast as I'd want. Hey ho. What I did finish was the next of my version of 12 Tags of Christmas (that's No. 10).

This is probably my favourite so far now it's finished. If you've not seen my previous entries this is is a challenge set by Linda Coughlin at The Funkie Junkie blog (full details HERE) which is running until 17th December - so still time to enter - and is sponsored very generously by The Funkie Junkie Boutique.

I copied Linda's idea of using her generous image freebie as a tree ornament, using Tim Holtz's Reflective Imagery technique (as seen in his Compendium of Curiosities 2) to make my one. As luck would have it that is the challenge going on at Linda Ledbetter's Studio L3 CC2 challenge 30, so it will be entered there too. Rather than use a fragment I went to town with Glossy Accents.

As you will have seen from Linda's original tag HERE, it was her idea to go with a brick wall background. Mine used a Creative Expressions embossing folder on antique gold card with gesso, Fired Brick Distress Ink and Picket Fence Distress Stain. It's just like a winter fireside.

And near that fireside a Christmas tree (well, embossed pine needles in this case!) along with beautiful lace from The Funkie Junkie Boutique (edged with Fired Brick DI) and some seed beads.

My sentiment was created on card covered in glitter embossing powder coloured with black alcohol ink (remember Tim's tag used this idea?) The strip of Basic Grey cardstock provided a nice contrast.

The top was again influenced by Linda's tag - I don't have an icicle die so this is the DIY option. Did you know if you dribble White Mixative alcohol ink with dry glitter and heat it you get the most gorgeous fluffy/powdery effect. Ribbon and thread with buttons completed the look.

And now it's time to sign off. Sleep calls even if there's another tag underway that I'd love to play with:)

OK, two days of extra work commitments has meant things have been quiet here on the crafting front, although I have finished another of my 12 Tags of Christmas (post for that later). The idea for this post is that we get to share what's on our workdesks (rather than our finished projects) so we can get to visit our fellow crafters without leaving our own front doors. It's all organised by Julia at the Stamping Ground who will give you all the details/links so you can join in the fun too. As it's been quiet I thought I'd show you my small collection of buttons:) I've collected a fair few in my time but the vast majority of these came from my mum, and lots of those were passed down by my nan (a seamstress by trade). They range from the bog standard ones to the sort I save for very special occasions (OK, so I look at them and decide against using them this time! again!!) There are glass ones, mother of pearl ones and mum says some were made as one-offs for people in the fashion business. All I know is I'm never without a button for a project!! So now it's time to sign off and go visit fellow WOYWWers. This may happen this morning, or I may get another call to go into work and it will need to wait until later. Either way, I'll see you soon. Hugs, Buttons x

25 November 2012

Fanfare please... as promised here is the tag that has caused my braincells to go into meltdown over the last few weeks (mentioned on Wednesday). Don't we all have projects that seem to cause us grief? And yet, when they're done they seem so simples:))

So what caused me such grief? The background. I sort of followed Linda's recipe (the TH Faux Suede technique from the Compendium of Curiosities 2) but it came out too dark. After much messing I redid the whole thing with lashings of Picket Fence DS and voila, something which came out more like Moss Agate. I was a happy bunny at last. As the house took up so much room I opted to add some paper to the background and stamped on some faux stitching.

Major thanks now go to Avril who's idea of stamping her mill onto vellum worked so well. Yes Avril, I will enter this into the Fashionable Stamping Challenge - Home Sweet Home challenge, which is sponsored by Marina of Cottage Crafts. I had fun with this bit, soaking the corrugated card layer in Brushed Cordruoy DS and stamping/masking/embossing my old fashioned house and trees onto the vellum. The glisten came courtesy of a recent purchase, Sheena's pearl WOW embossing powder in green. Yummy stuff this, and you can overstamp on it with Archival Ink to give a frosted effect to the trees.

Having taken inspiration from Linda's background and house elements I took my own route with the rest. A seasonal bouquet seemed appropriate (I love using Cosmic Shimmer PVA glue dots with Promarkers to make juicy berries). When there is so much going on it is good to keep the colour palette limited. A sentiment, some shredded net curtain, seam binding and a little key completed the tag.

As the house is definitely vintage I will also enter this into the latest Sunday Stampers challenge 233 (and be in good time for once!!) OK, not mentioning the terrible weather (hope everyone is safe and warm) the judging on Strictly (biaised??) or the Alonso/Vettel battle this pm. Instead it's time to get the next tag completed and create a hearty fish pie for the hungry hoards. Hope you all have a good Sunday.

24 November 2012

Hello everyone and welcome to my world. Thanks for joining me. Does that post title make it sound like I find ATC's a real challenge? Well actually they take an immense amount of thought but are ideal 'play' pieces. In such a small space (2.5" x 3.5") it's the details that count. They don't have to take ages to complete and you can test out ideas for bigger projects. That's my theory anyway, and this morning I have suspended 'real life' in order to play with a purpose.

I have been asked to make a couple of birthday cards, the first of which is for a teen who loves/studies beauty. Inspired by challenges with the theme of 'Faces' at Sunday Stampers and Fun With ATC's (see below for links) I have roadtested an idea for said birthday card. If I remember, I'll do a step by step when it comes to doing the larger version for those of you who are interested.

The background has involved applying lots of layers of gesso, Versamagic and Distress Inks. The lady is part of a larger stamp from Indigo Blu. Massive hint here; I tried and failed to apply Archival Ink to the stamp and rub off the bits I didn't want (a tip from Butterfly who is part of the Fun With ATC's design team) so instead I used a Promarker (any alcohol marker will do) to colour the parts required before stamping.

The 'mirror frame' was created with embossed modelling paste, gesso and white acrylic paint and was a deliberate attempt to recreate those antique frames you find that have been worn and repainted over many years. The sentiment seemed to need clear embossing to make it stand out. The whole colour scheme came from a bottle of handwash in my bathroom!! Inspiration can come from the most unlikely sources:))

23 November 2012

... to all of my followers, including the latest recruits (welcome to you all) for being so generous with your time and effort. I really appreciate hearing from you and am often to be found agreeing with / giggling at / sympathising with your comments. As we zoom ever closer to Christmas the hours appear to evapourate and challenge deadlines loom. With this in mind I will show you my entry for the Simon Says Stamp and Show challenge - Thankyou (sponsored as ever by Simon Says Stamp) as the closing date is only a couple of days away and I don't want to miss it.

More of my leaves! These were included on purpose (it's been made for a very special person who wanted to see them up close and personal and to whom I am very grateful).

They used lots of parcel paper and kraft glassine covered in various inks and embossing powders. An attempt was made to replicate the real ones in each case.

Lots of bling could have been added but I really wanted the garland of leaves to make the statement, so some basic Coredinations cardstock above and below did the job nicely.

Originally I created a completely different background but it went wrong (yep, a bit has gone in the notebook of horrors and triumphs!) so I went back to basics and did something far simpler with permanent chalky inks and some Coffee Archival Ink. So there you have it for this one.

Pleased to say I'll be back v. soon with that tag as it got finished (and I really love it!!!) Here's wishing you all a wonderful weekend wherever you are. Hugs, Buttons x

21 November 2012

Hi all, welcome back. Uber-quick one today as time is a rapidly shrinking commodity today. Today is the day to catch up on workdesks around the World courtesy of Mrs Dunnit and her trusty followers. If you want to join in it's very easy and great fun, so head to the Stamping Ground HERE for the full details. So what is on my workdesk today? Well...

Believe it or not I've had to use the camera flash and my natural light bulb to get a picture worth seeing even though this was taken at 8.30am!! Yep, it's THAT wet, miserable and dark here today. So what am I up to? Struggling would be a bit overdramatic, but the tag hidden under the turquoise cardstock has been 'underway' for three weeks and has foiled me at every turn. Dunno why, and when I post the final version it will make you wonder what all the fuss was about! Conquering it has given me a few embellishments which have 'gone wrong'. Normally these would be binned, but NO, in future I am going to put them in my crafting notebook with notes about what went wrong so I can learn from my mistakes. At some stage I will need to 'alter' the front cover of this notebook and it's working title has now become 'The Good, The Bad and The Ugly':) Any other suggestions gratefully received!

OK, time to sign off. I will endeavour to pop by as many fellow WOYWWers workdesks as I can (in between work/taxi service/Governors meeting/dog walking... you get the drift!) Here's hoping your Wednesday is far calmer and much drier. Hugs, Buttons x

19 November 2012

Welcome to all my new followers and to those of you who have been wonderful enough to have been following for some time. Did the title get you wondering? Well here's what it's all about...

Many of you have been taking part in Linda Coughlin's Funkie Junkie 12 Tags of Christmas challenge (all the details are HERE) which is open to all, still has some time to run, and is generously sponsored by The Funkie Junkie Boutique. This is my version of Linda's Tag No. 9.

Linda's background reminded me of those white enamel breadbins you see in trendy cookshops, so I started by covering embossed metal foil with a mix of White/Copper Mixative alcohol inks. To immitate worn enamel paint I used a crackle stamp with Coffee Archival ink. A strip of jute from The Funkie Junkie Boutique was added together with corrugated card embossed stars (covered in copper paint/sand/black ink) to echo those elements on Linda's tag. These were attached with TH Ideology Mini Fasteners (again from The Funkie Junkie Boutique) and pieces of chain coloured with Copper Mixative alcohol ink were added. To finish the top I added some silk twine and seam binding (The Funkie Junkie Boutique again).

I loved Linda's bow and I love the art of origami. The mixed green cardstock piece I had was too dark so stamping swirls with white acrylic paint lightened it. It was big enough to take centre stage so I opted not to use large stars at the bottom.

Instead some diecut strips in the same muted tones were overlapped, and covered with various buttons and an oversized brad. The brad is an oversized one from a HOTP set I got years ago - it had matching stamps which work well when using VersaMagic on them (that chalky feel, like the white paint).

17 November 2012

Hi everyone and many apologies for the lack of commenting over the past couple of days. This project has kept me busy/frustrated, as has life (you know, too many tasks too little time, and a migraine to boot). Anyway, I HAD to get this done for Hels' challenge before it closes tonight! For those who popped by on Wednesday do you remember the MDF birdhouse and leaves?

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It started life a blank birdhouse shape from the MDFman (bought at the NEC) and when I posted on Wednesday I had got as far as stencilling on some moulding paste, painting on gesso and then covering the whole thing in Gingerbread VersaMagic (see HERE).

Having blended over Distress Inks (Stormy Sky/Dusty Concord/Walnut Stain/Pine Needles) I needed to make the surface durable. Cue a layer of Ranger Glue n Seal. Hmmm, as I patted it on gently the whole thing started to go mottely (technical term) and pale! ARRRRGGHH!!

So, I walked away (OK, got on with umpteen chores) and thought about it. Then I decided to add alcohol inks - same colours - over the top. This worked, but made the whole thing too dark. So finally I rubbed over the surface gently with some alcohol blending solution and hey presto!

Next I added the plywood bird and key (Crafty-emblies) colouring both with alcohol inks. The key was sealed but I left the bird 'naked' as it looked wrong shiny.

The bird and birdhouse charms came courtesy of my crafty friend Anne - she sent them to me ages ago and I have been saving them for something special. They were distressed slightly with alcohol inks. The chain came off one end of a charity shop necklace. Get me - I came over all handyman and nailed it on with a hammer! No shifting that now:)

Next job the leaves. They were a combination of kraft glassine, brown paper, inks (alcohol and distress) and embossing powders, followed by a few hours of cutting out as I didn't know how many I would need and had to make too many. There was more freedom with colours this time so I could go even more lifelike with the maple leaves and add in some ivy.

I trailled them over the roof edge and then over the key.

Final job, adding some 'berries', well seed beads and Distress Stickles aplenty. Seems easy? Trouble is hindsight is a wonderful thing, and you can start with an idea of what to do (unless you are copying your own or someone else's project). Still, I got there in the end, and the boys' bus fares will now be housed somewhere nicer than a plastic bag!

I will be getting round to visit everyone over the next few days and catch up with the wonderful projects out there. In the meantime thankyou for dropping by and leaving your comments. They mean so much.

14 November 2012

Hello everyone and welcome back to my world! (or at least the crafty bit of it:) It's time to bounce around the crafting spaces of the planet with our 'hostess with the mostest' Julia Dunnit and the rest of the gang over at the Stamping Ground. If you fancy joining in just jump over to her blog for all the deets.

My photo is a bit blurry today (dodgy operator:) but that represents life this week - a bit of a blur, rushing around trying to accomplish a million things at once. Craftwise I'm working on stuff which takes time. For the moment the Christmas stuff has been put to one side. See that pile of leaves on the left? Gotta cut those out by hand, and there's a load of oak leaves to do too when I work out the ingredients required. There are lots because they are needed for a number of ongoing projects, including the money/bird box in the middle. That was one of my few purchases from the MDFman at the NEC - oh yes, FEW! I had the best time meeting up with Butterfly to scour the stands for 'the essentials that were on the list'; it was great to get another opinion about whether some things were worth it. Mind you, I now have a shopping list for Viva Decor/Paperartsy/MDFman which even Santa would groan at!!! Back to the desk, I've been messing with the key/bird embellies and testing my ideas for ink/colour blending for the box based on the dragon clock on the right. It came from Nottingham about 20 years ago before you ask so I shouldn't think they are still available!!! There's a background still to do for another leafy card, but that's still in my head. Right, that's it for now. I need to go and visit my fellow WOYWWers. Thanks for dropping by; I look forward to seeing you all again soon. Hugs as ever, Buttons x

10 November 2012

Hello everyone and welcome. Today's offering follows a similar theme to many others today. Sunday 11th November 2012 is Remembrance Sunday here in the UK when we remember all of those around the globe who served and died in two World Wars and many other conflicts since.

This tag has been created in part to meet the requirements for the following two challenges;

I had no idea until completing some research on the First World War that so much machinery was used, and that got me thinking about how to depict this in a tag. The background was the biggest challenge, both to create and then to photograph effectively - not sure even now that I've achieved the second of those! How to get a mechanical background into a poppy field? The wonderful Sandra came to my rescue, as she has so often, with her brilliant use of the Tim Holtz whitewash background technique from Compendium of Curiosities 2. See her tag HERE. Can you see the little cogs in the background of the sky? Note to self; use white acrylic paint in future rather than Picket Fence Distress Stain!

My second idea was to depict poppies rising from the buried remains of those bits of machinery - mechanical poppies with cogs for centres. They have been embossed and covered with Rock Candy Crackle Glaze, with the metal centres inked over with Black Soot and Red Pepper alcohol inks. The butterfly represents a fallen soul being freed to fly, carrying the key to the future - WW1 was supposed to be 'the war to end all wars'. If only that were so.

Having stamped the TH grasses I added clear embossing powder to stop them fading completely into the background. Again, not sure if the light was good enough today to show the blend of Stormy Sky to Peeled Paint to Walnut Stain, but it works in real life, trust me.

As I mentioned a little while ago I got into this crafting lark after beginning the (unfinished!) task of scrapbooking the family tree research I've done. One double page spread I did manage complete told the stories of two members of my OH's family. The first story concerns GB, a young man of 23 years who left his small village in Derbyshire to go to France. Having only been there a month his regiment was involved in the Battle of Loos, close to the Belgian border. This battle marked the first use of poison gas by the British forces, as they released 140 tons of chlorine gas immediately before engaging with the German lines. In places the gas was blown back over the British trenches and as the troops had inefficient masks many were killed on that first day, amongst them GB.

The second story concerns GM, a bachelor of 39 years who left his family and friends behind in another small village in Derbyshire to start a new life in Australia. Having served a 7 year masons apprenticeship back in England he took the long journey by ship to Waterloo, Sydney in 1912 and set himself up as a bricklayer. Just as this adventure began the war in Europe changed everything. On 13th January 1916 he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force, claiming to be 35 years even though by now he was actually 42 years. Less than four years after landing in Sydney GM left for the battlefields of the Somme, where he was killed in August 1916 battling for control of a 'strategically important' farm.

I'm sure many of you will have equally sad stories about loved ones from all over Europe, Australia and the rest of the World that you know or are yet to uncover. It seems so many lives were and continue to be wasted. We can't change the past, but we all have the ability to choose to love and respect all of mankind in the future, accepting and embracing our differences so that those who gave their lives didn't do so in vain.

9 November 2012

Oh boy have I been blown away by the lovely comments following my amazing blogworthy news yesterday!! Thank you so much everyone. I like to return the compliment by visiting those who have taken the time and trouble to leave comments, so you can imagine that I've spent a fair few hours travelling around blogland (and the World!!) catching up with so many friends new and old. Thank you also to those of you who have become followers. It is a privilege to have you join me in this journey. Right, on to business...

The elements of Linda's tag which inspired me this time were that amazing red clock, the pale green tree, the ripped and inked book page background and the died lacy bows at the bottom. I started with the background and used a page from the charity shop 'trashy novel' buy. Using Linda's method to distress the glued down page was great fun and provided the perfect base for adding VersaMagic Aspen Mist/Gingerbread, Walnut Stain Distress Ink and green/gold mica powder. And then the fun bit - those stars - not a day goes past when I don't reach for the Coffee Archival Ink (thank you Funkie Junkie Boutique!) and in this case it was used for those stars (yep, the freebie with the November issue of The Craft Stamper magazine) with added glitter. Keeping that in place required some Fixative spray - boy does that stuff smell!!

Linda's red clock is my favourite element from her tags so far. It is so bright and juicy:) I don't have Tim's die for that, so mine was stamped onto some cardstock from that Basic Grey Jovial pad. Using Distress Embossing powders has also become something of an obsession (in this case Black Soot) and provided a contrast to the 'getting close to midnight on Christmas Eve' clock hands. Those are cut from metal tape and covered in Copper Mixative and Red Pepper alcohol inks.

More glitter on the triple embossed tree with added mica powders and glitter.

Lovely lace (again from The Funkie Junkie Boutique) was dyed with my own mix of brown ink spray and a touch of mica again, with metal foil stars completing the border (with more of that alcohol ink mix).

So, as well as entering this into The Funkie Junkie 12 Tags of Christmas Challenge
it is also going into the Frilly and Funkie Tic Tac Toe challenge for the metal/alcohol inks/glitter column (with added lace and ink sprays:)
Loads to do this weekend (all good - I even have a renewed enthusiasm for ironing - well at least for ink resist ironing anyway!) Hope you all have a great weekend, whatever you do and wherever you are.
Love and hugs to you all, Buttons x

8 November 2012

Will someone please pinch me so I know I'm not dreaming!! When the list of blogworthy links was published on Tim Holtz' blog today little did I realise I would be on it for 'Falling Leaves'! What an honour, especially when you read the list of other 'blogworthies'. OMG, my happy dance will be going on for weeks:)) Now comes the challenge to continue living up to this - no pressure then! Thank you to those of you have already sent me lovely comments about it (nope, I hadn't read them before I looked at Tim's blogpost, so you can imaging how surprised I was) and welcome to my new followers.

And so to business. Another tag for Linda Coughlin's 12 Tags of Christmas challenge, sponsored by The Funkie Junkie Boutique. This is my version of No. 5 (you can see Linda's version HERE) and was inspired by the musical/snowflake background, the text and doily elements and the filligree part at the bottom.

For those unfamiliar with my previous Christmas tags they are all being added to kraft cards ready for sending to friends and family in a month or so.

I employed the Tim's November Tag techniques for the background - Archival Ink musical score and resist snowflakes - the iron hasn't seen so much action in ages!!

The doily got a mix of copper mica spritz and my own blend of brown ink spray (mix drops of red, green and yellow reinker with water in a spray bottle/mister). The reindeer got a coat of Distress Rock Candy after inking - the Walnut Stain DI on the edges really made a difference here.

You may have noticed the trees under the reindeer. These were stamped onto tissue using Distress Markers and layered over the background using Ranger Glue n Seal and the sentiment seemed appropriate.

Whilst loving Linda's filligree element I didn't have one so it was time to improvise. There is a challenge currently running at Our Creative Corner to use silhouettes - in this case two die cut elements joined together and embossed. These were topped by a rosette (I had to make three in different sizes to get it to fit!) a hand cut glitter snowflake and a metal end cap from a charity shop necklace. Ribbon and metallic thread completed the tag in readiness for adding to the base card.

7 November 2012

Sorry everyone! Late for WOYWW today (unforgiveable! :O) It's been a manic morning and I didn't get time to photograph the 'ole workdesk in advance - epic fail. Still better late than never.

In case you are wondering what I'm prattling on about, every Wednesday crafters from around the globe drop in on each other for a catch up/snoop/chat. If you fancy joining in why not pop over to Julia Dunnit's blog HERE to find out more. One of her 'rules' is that we keep it short and sweet, so just a quick one from me. I've almost finished another tag for a 12 Tags of Christmas challenge and it's time to add trimmings. No tidy rolls for me, oh no. I have a shopping bag filled with all sorts of stuff collected over time. This is why I seem to take for ever to finish something which should be quick to do - too much choice and faffing :)) Oh, and there's a bag that big with buttons in too (inherited from my mum)!! Doesn't seem to stop me looking longingly at all sorts of other trimmings on offer out there though. One quick question to answer. Yes, the tubs in the background contain Indigo Blu Mega Flakes. The spray bottles to the right of them came from Wilkinsons (a shop in the UK) and were a real bargin - they hold my own ink spray conncoctions. OK, promised to keep this short so time to go. Thank you to everyone who wished me luck with my new job. I hope that you all get what you need to make you happy in your lives too. Huge hugs to all, Buttons x

5 November 2012

Hello out there everyone and thank you so much for dropping by. Your visits and comments are always appreciated. Well it's been a busy one, visiting rellies, going to see Skyfall (amazing!!) and the ususal domestic chores we all love so much!! And then today I started a new job having taken a momentous leap of faith off a work 'cliff' over the summer. Sometimes you just have to trust that the right thing is going to happen, even if you are not totally sure what that 'thing' is!! A spot of crafting did take place too you'll be pleased to hear:) And hurrah! it fits with four challenges, so that helps the sense of achievement too!!

And then The Funkie Junkie herself, Linda Coughlin posted her latest 12 Tags of Christmas Tag 8 which she also based on Tim's tag; even though I need to get 5, 6 and 7 done yet, it seemed sense to enter this one for the latest phase of the challenge and catch up with the others this week. Just in case you haven't seen Linda's challenge yet, which is sponsored by The Funkie Junkie Boutique, there's still time to enter. She provides a fab inspirational tag each week - pop over to her blog to find out more.

Here's Linda's 8th tag so that you can see which elements I used too; resist, red, a Greetings sentiment and some of that fabulous jute.

I love how the seam binding I got from The Funkie Junkie Boutique takes Distress Ink so well and allows it to blend. Team it with twine and string (from clothing labels:) and it looks really rustic.

The background stamping over the initial colour layers is only really visible up close but adds so much underlying texture - this is where Tim's genius in putting tags together shines through.

(Apologies for the camera blur on this shot)

The gift of a seasonal bouquet fell in nicely with this rustic theme, especially with the jute, more twine and that lovely little tag; all this came from The Funkie Junkie Boutique again and as a result I will enter this into the Frilly and Funkie Sunday Share challenge too.

Finally I mounted the tag onto a kraft card ready for sending next month (as I have done with previous tags).

Over at Make My Monday the current challenge is to make an autumnal card with kraft and twine - now I know this is more about Christmas but the leaves, kraft and twine are there too, which fits the theme.

That's all for now folks. Once again thanks for stopping by. I'll be returning the compliment very soon:)